Giving Notice
by Jackie W
Summary: Part 3 - Will Sam ever make it to Jack's cabin?
1. Giving Notice

Title: "Giving Notice (1/1)"  
  
Author: Jackie W.   
  
Email: jackiesfic@aol.com  
  
Rating: PG13  
  
Classification: S/J UST/Romance?  
  
Season: End of Season 6  
  
Spoilers: Meridian, Full Circle, Fallen  
  
Summary: Sam has issues that could mean the end of SG1  
  
  
  
Authors notes: I wanted to slap Daniel around when he basically ignored Sam in Full Circle. (and I LIKE Daniel) And just what was Sam discussing with General Hammond in his office when Jonas came rushing in at the beginning of Fallen? This was supposed to be totally full of angst, but my muse wasn't buying it. So we compromised. I got to work on the angst for the first part, she got to be upbeat at the end.  
  
Feed back craved!   
  
Sam sat up in a panic and tried to let her heart rate settle as she fought off the remnants of the nightmare. It had been the same every night for the last two weeks, ever since they had returned from finding Abydos destroyed, and all of the inhabitants ascended. In the dream she was in the control room desperately trying to close the iris as Anubus' Jaffa came streaming through the wormhole. One by one all of her colleagues and friends were killed. One by one she watched as they ascended without a backwards glance. Finally it was over. The gunfire ceased and a Jaffa headed up the stairs zatting her as soon as he reached the control room. She watched helplessly from the floor as he dialed out, and after the wormhole had closed behind the last of the enemy she stood up to face the eerie silence, totally alone.   
  
'Holy Hannah, girl, get a grip' she thought to herself as she shivered in the darkness of her quarters. Any college psych student could tell you to deal with your abandonment issues and move on. But for some reason finding out both Teal'c and the Colonel had been visited by Daniel in his glowy state coupled with Daniel's cool greeting on Abydos when she had finally seen him had really done a number on her head. She had always thought of Daniel as one of her best friends, so the apparent lack of caring on his part had really hurt. It hadn't helped matters that since they had been back the Colonel had been remote and moody, and Jonas had been totally absorbed in trying to translate the tablet they had found. With Janet and Cassie off looking at colleges that had left her with only Teal'c to talk to. As good a friend as he was, she didn't think he would understand her getting all needy on him because Daniel had been abrupt in his greeting. Besides, he and the Colonel had headed out to the Alpha site yesterday to deliver some equipment and get an update on the Jaffa rebellion.   
  
Looking at the clock and seeing that there was only another hour until her alarm went off anyway she grabbed fresh BDU's and headed for the locker room. She could certainly use the extra time to catch up on work. Since they had been back she had made two trips to Nevada to work on the X-303. Now she was tackling a backlog of technology that the SG teams had brought back. Between the work and the nightmares she was exhausted.   
  
General Hammond sighed and looked at his calendar for the next day. Not too bad. A staff meeting with the heads of all of the technical areas, and SG4 would be returning from their mission and would need a debrief. He also had a mission briefing with SG2 who would be heading out in the afternoon. He frowned. Major Carter had promised him a summary of the MALP data for that mission by the end of the day but he had not received it yet. He checked the clock. 20:30. She probably had gotten involved in her lab and lost track of time.   
  
His hand reached for the phone and then he changed his mind. He hadn't seen much of the Major over the last two weeks, but his brief discussions had left him feeling as if something was wrong. With SG1 scattered at the moment and Dr Fraiser on leave it might be a good idea for him to check up on her, if for no other reason than to make sure she wasn't working herself into the ground.  
  
He wasn't surprised to find Sam asleep on her keyboard. He was alarmed however to notice that her sleep was far from peaceful. He was about to wake her when she suddenly jerked awake with a sob, and in the moment before she realized that she was not alone he heard her mumble "This has got to stop." Then she noticed his presence and shot to her feet. "Sir!" she exclaimed.  
  
"At ease, Major," he replied eyeing her with concern.   
  
"General, what time is it? Sir, I apologize. I meant to bring this report down an hour ago. I must have dozed off," she stammered still not totally awake.   
  
"No damage done, Major. But I am going to insist that you go home. Get some real sleep in your own bed. I don't want to sound like a certain Colonel we both know, but you look like hell," he stated honestly.   
  
Sam looked away in embarrassment. But she knew he was right "Yes, sir. I'll just shut down everything and then be on my way."  
  
"As a matter of fact, Major, I want you to take a few days off. Teal'c and Colonel O'Neill are not due back for two days. I don't expect to see you back in here until Thursday," he added.  
  
She opened her mouth to protest and then shut it again. In the first place Hammond didn't look like he was in the mood to argue. And suddenly a couple of days outside of the mountain sounded appealing. The weather had been nice when she had last been outside, and the thought of a daytrip on her bike was tempting. So instead she found herself nodding her head in agreement. Hammond should have known then and there that something was seriously wrong.  
  
On Tuesday morning she headed out on her bike with no clear destination in mind. Subconsciously she must have known where she was headed all along because when she found herself at her mother's graveside late on Wednesday she was not surprised. She was only slightly concerned that she was now a two-day ride away from Colorado Springs, and as such would be AWOL in the morning. She hoped that Hammond would extend her leave. In the mean time she had more important things on her mind as she sat down cross-legged in front of her Mom's grave and started to talk. After a brief glance around to ensure that there was not a living soul in sight, she started at the beginning. In hushed tones she told her mom about the Stargate, her work, and her teammates. She told her about the Goa'uld and the Tok'ra, stumbling a bit over the part about Jolinar. She filled her in on Jacob and his blending with Selmak, in case Dad hadn't. She was finishing up telling her about the events of the last year since Daniel ascended when she finally paused and took in her surroundings. She realized that it was dark, and that she was starving. Promising her Mom she would be back in the morning she headed off to find a hotel and restaurant. That night was the first night that she slept without being plagued by nightmares in weeks.  
  
In the morning she called the SGC and asked to speak to General Hammond. When he came on the line she explained the cover story she had come up with; that she had been out riding on her bike, and had broken down. She was waiting for a part, but was really enjoying exploring the hiking trails in the area, and would like to stay until Saturday. Hammond was happy to extend her leave until Monday as long as she would have her cell phone on her in case of an emergency. She breathed a sigh of relief, and after picking up some breakfast headed back to the cemetery. She had just gotten settled in by her Mom's grave when her phone rang.  
  
"Carter," she answered.   
  
"Where the hell are you?" the panicked voice at the other end demanded.   
  
"I got stranded, Sir. I explained to the General, didn't he tell you?" she replied with a sigh.  
  
"Yes, and I didn't buy it for a minute. Where are you really?" he asked more gently.  
  
She considered lying, but she knew that since she had already paused he would pick up on it immediately.  
  
"San Antonio, Sir," she answered honestly. After all, he had no idea why she was there.   
  
"What's in San Antonio, Carter? And when are you coming back?" he hounded at her.  
  
"Not to be rude, Sir, but it's personal," she said, evading not only answering the first question, but completely ignoring the second, which did not escape notice.  
  
"Fine, I'm sorry. But you will be back Monday, right?" he insisted in concern.  
  
She paused. Darn it she really needed to work on spitting out a lie quickly.   
  
"Carter? Damn it, you have to come back. We need you here," he pleaded now seriously starting to panic.   
  
"I don't know, ok? I think I'll be back on Monday," she whispered. "I have some things I need to work out."  
  
At the other end of the phone Jack closed his eyes and hoped he wasn't about to make things worse. "You have to come back Sam. I can't do this every day without you."   
  
She held her breath. "Do what?"   
  
That was a good question he thought. Live? Breath? Fight for a future that might never be?  
  
"Any of it, Carter. What would be the purpose?" he finally admitted.  
  
"Duty, Honor, to Protect and Serve? Any of this ringing any bells?" she asked with a grimace.  
  
"I don't know does it? You're the one in San Antonio," he reminded her.  
  
"Good point, Sir," she acknowledged.   
  
"So you'll be here on Monday?" he prodded.  
  
Sam sighed in defeat. She would have four more days to decide what she wanted to do, and she really needed to be there Monday one way or another. "Yes, I'll be there Monday," she agreed.  
  
A wave of relief washed over Jack. Then he had another thought. "And everything will go back to normal, right?"  
  
"Normal? Not sure I know what that is, Sir," Sam quipped.  
  
"Very funny. See you Monday, Carter," he said. It was only after he'd hung up that he realized she hadn't answered his last question and he started to worry again.  
  
Sam sat and regarded her Mom's grave. "So that was my CO. Colonel Jack O'Neill. I guess that's my cue to tell you about my love life. Don't worry, it won't take long" Sam said with a sigh.  
  
It actually took several hours. She had told her Mom all about Jonas years ago, so she spent a little bit filling her in on the past six long celibate years. Narim, Martouf and Orlin all got a brief accounting. Then she got to Jack O'Neill. And she didn't stop talking for well over an hour. When she was done she sat in stunned silence. Finally she continued on with a chuckle.  
  
"Well. You must be wondering exactly why I was so confused when I got here. I'm sort of wondering the same thing now. I really do know what I want. I've just been too scared to make the changes in my life to get it. Afraid that it won't work out and then I will really be alone. But no guts no glory, right?" Sam stated confidently.   
  
On Monday morning, Sam printed out two letters and signed them both before heading to General Hammond's office. She was hoping she would only need the first one. The second was her ace in the hole. When she was seated in the General's office she handed him the first letter.   
  
"Major, I can't allow this. You are needed on SG1. You request for a transfer is denied," Hammond bellowed after reading the first letter.  
  
"Sir, this is not something I haven't thought through. I really don't think I can serve effectively on SG1 any longer," she insisted.   
  
"Major, Colonel O'Neill came to talk to me Friday. He said he thought there was something wrong. Whatever it is, he wants you to know that you are very much wanted and needed on SG1," Hammond told her. "Maybe you should talk to him about whatever is bothering you," he suggested.  
  
Sam smiled a sad smile. That was kind of the point. She couldn't talk to him as long as she was on SG1. She couldn't exactly tell Hammond that though.   
  
"Sir, there really is no problem with Colonel O'Neill or anyone else on SG1. It's just time for me to move on. With all due respect, Sir, I am requesting a transfer," she said looking him in the eye with a calm confidence.  
  
"I can't allow that, Major. The Joint Chiefs would have my head if I let SG1 be broken up," Hammond said, once again rejecting her request.  
  
Sam pulled the other letter out of her jacket pocket. "Then I have no choice but to resign, Sir," she stated sadly.  
  
To say Hammond was shocked was an understatement. The young woman in front of him was a brilliant officer with a great future in front of her. He wouldn't be surprised if she made General herself one day. He couldn't imagine what would motivate her to throw all of that away.   
  
"Major… Sam, let's talk off the record. What's all of this about? You are one of the best officers I have ever worked with, and you have always seemed to love your work here. What's changed?" he asked in confusion.  
  
"It's really quite simple, Sir. I'm lonely. I want a family. And I will never have it as long as I am on SG1," Sam stated quietly.   
  
"Sam, SG1 *is* your family," Hammond protested.  
  
"And I love them dearly, Sir. But they will not be around forever. Daniel has already left us, and in another couple of years I daresay none of the other three will be around either. The Colonel will retire or at the very least step down from SG1, and Teal'c will go off to help lead the Jaffa rebellion with his son at his side. Jonas will most likely eventually go back to Kelowna. And exactly where will that leave me?" she questioned.   
  
Hammond had no answer for her. It was certainly true that she would have a hard time building and maintaining any type of a relationship outside of the SGC when she had to keep her life a secret, and she was on-call 24/7 to save the world. However it really wouldn't be that much easier even if she was just in the lab or on a science team. Her work would still be classified, and she still would be needed around the clock. Not a good foundation for a relationship. Unless… And suddenly he knew exactly what was behind this request. He should have seen it coming. How long had he expected the two of them to put their lives on hold?   
  
He sighed in defeat. "Have you discussed this decision with Colonel O'Neill yet?" he asked wondering how far the two had taken things.  
  
"No, Sir. He has no clue that I am even considering this. He would only try to talk me out of it, and my mind is made up," she replied  
  
So nothing probably had actually happened between them yet. "Sam, why don't you give it some time? Wait a year, or six months even and if you feel the same way then I will approve your transfer. A lot could happen in that timeframe," Hammond suggested.  
  
  
  
"It could, Sir, and not necessarily for the better. I could be dead, or injured. Believe me, Sir, I've considered a lot of options. And I know that this is what I want. The only thing that I ask is that I can stay on at the SGC in some capacity. Leaving all of my work and friends behind is not my intention. I just need to try for some sort of life outside of this mountain, too," she confided.  
  
Hammond nodded his head in understanding. He'd known Sam's father for a long time, and had seen glimpses of the woman sitting in front of him as she grew up. He knew that she'd had no sort of normal family life since she was thirteen. It was only natural that she would want to try for one before it slipped from her grasp. And she was right. Each of the members of SG1 had died or almost died way too many times to take even a month for granted. He couldn't in all good conscious deny her this. But he also couldn't approve it without making a few calls.   
  
"Major, give me the rest of the day to see what I can do," he said, effectively bringing the discussion back on the record.  
  
"Thank you, Sir," Sam replied and left as he picked up the phone.  
  
Sam headed immediately for her lab, knowing two things for certain. There would be a month's worth of work waiting for her there, and the Colonel would be stopping by soon. She groaned when she entered. She'd been wrong on the first count. There was at least two month's worth of work siting on the workbench. Another good reason to be leaving SG1, she thought. She never got enough time in the lab. It was only twenty minutes before Colonel O'Neill showed up though. She smiled at how predicable he could be sometimes.   
  
"Carter, you're back!" he announced.  
  
"I said I would be," she reminded him.  
  
He nodded and let out a small sigh of relief. "So everything's ok?" he prodded.  
  
"It will be, Sir," she said with a small smile.   
  
He accepted that at face value, not guessing what she really meant. "So what are you working on?" he asked picking up a gizmo from the bench.   
  
"I have no idea," she admitted.  
  
The rest of the day passed normally, and if Sam was distracted her teammates didn't notice. Jonas was barely able to pull himself away from his translation efforts to eat lunch. He probably wouldn't have noticed if Anubus himself sat down at the lunch table. Jack and Teal'c were busy updating Sam on their trip to the Alpha site. All she had to do was nod and look interested which really wasn't that difficult. It was just after 14:00 when Hammond called her to his office.   
  
"Well, Major. You got what you wanted. The Joint Chiefs and the President all agreed to allow you to transfer off of SG1. With the understanding that you might still be needed to go out with any SG team including SG1 as needed. But from this point on, you will be reporting directly to me, as the lead scientist of the SGC. They are even thinking of making it an officially titled position. They did ask if you would continue on SG1 until we could find a replacement for you. Although since SG1 is currently off the mission list, that shouldn't be a big problem," he explained.  
  
"Of course, Sir. I even have a couple of suggestions for possible replacements," Sam said beaming.  
  
"'I'll let you tell your former teammates. I don't think they will be too happy," the General warned.  
  
"Not at first, Sir, but it's not as if I am totally abandoning them. They'll understand eventually," she said with more confidence than she felt. "And , Sir? Thank you," she stated, knowing that he probably had done some fast talking to get the approval.  
  
  
  
"Be happy, Sam," he said with a smile.  
  
The smile she gave him back was blinding. She was already feeling like the weight of the world had been lifted off of her shoulders. She looked at him with a twinkle in her eye that had been missing of late.   
  
"I plan on it, Sir. I might even go fishing," she quipped causing Hammond to chuckle.  
  
Just then Jonas came skidding into the office.   
  
"I've got it!" he exclaimed.  
  
"I hope it's not catching," Sam joked, still feeling a bit giddy with the sudden change in her status.   
  
Of course that wasn't going to last long. They had a new mission. And it wasn't until a week later that she was finally able to tell them she was no longer officially on SG1. But that was fine, because somehow it seemed fitting that her last mission would be to bring Daniel home. 


	2. Getting a Life

Title: "Getting a Life"  
  
Author: Jackie W.   
  
Email: jackiesfic@aol.com  
  
Getting a Life  
  
This wasn't how it was supposed to be. When she had resigned from SG1 she'd had such high hopes. This was her chance to step back a bit, and maybe actually get some sleep and put on those five pounds Janet was always harping on her to gain. And of course there was the hope that this would give her a chance to date, fall in love, and maybe even have kids like normal people. She'd even let the tiny hidden desire to go fishing out into the light.  
  
But from the moment she had nervously told her teammates that she was no longer officially on SG1, everything had gone wrong. She hadn't even been able to explain the reasons to them, other than to jokingly say that she was trying to get one of those lives she kept hearing about, when the klaxons had sounded and SG1 had been sent out on a rescue mission. The three men had put aside their shock, and the four had headed out to retrieve SG4.   
  
By the time they came back, two of her former teammates had already formed their own opinions as to why she had left. The Colonel had taken her comments about getting a life seriously, and decided that he wouldn't be the one to stand in the way of her being happy. So he had withdrawn. No more stopping in her lab just to watch her work, and no more lunches in the commissary. He avoided listening to gossip. He really didn't want to know if she was dating anyone. And Daniel in his slightly confused state had decided that his return had something to do with her transfer, and he refused all of her attempts to explain that the request had been made before his return.   
  
Thank goodness for Teal'c who understood instinctively Sam's motives. He had been there during that damned Zatarc testing, and when the Colonel had been missing several months ago. He knew she had simply reached the point where she could no longer pretend on a daily basis that she didn't care more than she was supposed to. And he supported her decision without judging her or thinking she was selfish.  
  
As did Janet. As Sam's doctor she knew that it was only a matter of time before she was going to have to ground Sam anyway. The Major went off-world weekly, and even on a good mission she put her body through grueling hikes, little sleep and only the basic nourishment. She tended to lose two or three pounds every mission. Then she would come back to base, head for her lab, and put in 48 hour shifts trying to catch up on all of the other work that was expected of her. The doctor had been threatening to ground Sam ever since SG1's last run-in with Nirrti to give Sam a chance to gain a few pounds.  
  
As Sam's friend, Janet knew that despite all of that the officer would have continued on until she dropped if it wasn't for the fact that she was in love with her CO. And that fact had worn her down over the last six years almost as fast as the grueling schedule had. Weary of body, she just could no longer overcome the weariness of her spirit.  
  
However, the break from SG1 wasn't having the desired effect. Stressed by the reaction her departure had caused in Daniel and the Colonel Sam began having second thoughts. Had she abandoned them? Was she being selfish leaving for personal reasons? And she was more than a little bit hurt. Daniel had always been one of her best friends, someone she could talk to about almost anything. Had he truly forgotten that friendship? And as for the Colonel, so much for his mantra of never leaving anyone behind. As soon as she was no longer a member of SG1 that rule obviously didn't apply any more. SG1 had been assigned a new team member and she was left in the dust.   
  
The entire situation came to a head a month after she had requested her transfer from the team. SG1 had been given a three-day weekend and the Colonel had decided that they needed to do some team bonding with their new member, Captain Jameson. Teal'c had been expressing interest in the rodeos held in Jameson's hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming, so the four men had taken off on a road trip.  
  
Sam headed home Friday with a heavy heart. She wouldn't even have known about the guys' plans if Teal'c hadn't stopped by her lab when he'd left the day before. If he had seen the hurt look in her eyes he'd said nothing, simply wishing her a good weekend, and reminding her not to work too hard. Luckily, Janet came over later Friday night, and the two women spent the night getting drunk and griping about men in general. Janet was trying to get Sam to agree to go out the following Friday with her to a bar near the Academy.   
  
"Come on Sam. A lot of cute Doctor's hang out there, plus some of the staff from the Academy. It will be fun, and lord knows we could both use a little action. You left SG1 to try to get a life. You won't find it holed up in your lab," she complained.  
  
"Fine Jan. You're right. Now that I'm not going off-world weekly it's time to remember what life on Earth is like," Sam conceded.  
  
Sam spent the next morning at the gym sweating out her hangover, then headed over to the Fraiser's to pick up Cassie.  
  
"No chess today, Cass. If I'm going to re-enter the human race I need to go shopping," she admitted. "Come to the mall with me. My treat."  
  
Needless to say Cassie enthusiastically agreed and the two spent the afternoon happily spending Sam's money. After dropping Cassie off Sam headed home to her quiet, empty house. Three hours later she was elbow deep in a gallon of chocolate ice cream when her pager went off. She was needed back at the SGC.  
  
By the time she had fixed the problem she was royally pissed off. It had been a simple fix, something any of the techs could have handled. But no, they called her because they knew she would be home. Trouble was, now that she was on base she dreaded the thought of going home to all of that quiet. She decided to bunk down on base, and try to get some work done in her lab the next day. Sunday's were always good for getting some uninterrupted work in, and she had a device that SG6 had brought back on Thursday that she hadn't had a chance to look at yet.   
  
Not that anybody ever came to disturb her anymore she thought as she sat down to work in the morning. Other than the lab staff and an occasional visit from Janet of Teal'c to take her to lunch she hadn't had any visitors for weeks. No Daniel bringing her coffee and staying to discuss his latest translation, and certainly no Colonel fidgeting with her tools and causing her to frantically check to make sure that nothing dangerous or valuable was laying around.  
  
Darn, she missed them so much. Especially the Colonel. She gotten used to Daniel's absence over the last year, but the Colonel had been around more, almost as if to compensate. She loved having him in the lab while she worked, tossing an occasional question her way, commenting on the latest gossip, and telling horrid jokes to try to distract her. She looked at the device from P2C-927 in frustration. She had no idea what the thing did. Mostly round with a flat bottom, there was what appeared to be a front side that was covered in a mesh-like material.  
  
"So just what kind of doohickey are you," she mused out load. "The Colonel would say you looked like a speaker for a stereo system."  
  
She set the device on her bench while she gathered up a few tools. She noticed the hum building up in the 'speaker' a second too late. As she turned back to face it she barely had time to blink before a silent wave of energy burst out of the device flinging her across the room. Almost as silently glass reigned down from the overhead lights and test tubes, papers and anything else not nailed down landed in a heap around her crumpled body.   
  
Sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj  
  
Jack looked at his companions in tolerant amusement. Jameson was explaining the rodeo events to an attentive Teal'c who for once looked right at home in his cowboy hat. Daniel was alternately sneezing from the dust being kicked up by the bulls and horses in the arena, and watching the proceedings in horror. Jack himself was bored. He absolutely refused to admit to himself that it was because there was someone missing from the group. Someone who would have shared in his amused observation of the other three, delighted in sharing junk food, and enjoyed making rude comments about everything from the clothes some of the women were wearing to the size of the belt buckles the men were sporting.   
  
No he refused to admit he missed her. He refused to wonder what she was doing back in Colorado Springs, or feel the pain that rose up at the thought of her out on a date. He was still angry and a bit hurt that she hadn't talked over her decision with him before transferring from SG1. He knew she had tried to explain her reasons after the fact, but he just hadn't been ready to listen. She'd made her decision without consulting anyone, now she would have to live with it by herself too.   
  
As he drove home Sunday he noticed that Daniel seemed to be deep in thought and totally ignoring his surroundings.   
  
"What's on your mind Daniel?" he inquired.  
  
"Sam would have told us if she was sick or something, right?" Daniel asked out of the blue.  
  
"I guess, why?" Jack answered suddenly concerned.  
  
"It was just something Teal'c said about us abandoning a good friend when she needed us," Daniel said his eyes now looking at Jack in confusion. "I mean, I've been gone, but she looked ok to me. Maybe a bit thin, but ok. Has she been sick?"  
  
"No. Well, she got snaked about a year ago, but Doc said it was absorbed into her body just fine. And her DNA got scrambled, but everything got put back to normal. I'm sure she's fine Daniel. She would have told us if she had to leave because he was sick," Jack insisted with more confidence than he felt. "Besides, she said she transferred because she wanted to get a life, remember?"  
  
"Yeah. You know we used to joke about that, her trying to get a life. How impossible it would be with her lifestyle to have a boyfriend or husband waiting at home for her. She always said that if she ever felt the urge to settle down and have kids she would have to quit. I guess she finally got the urge," Daniel mused.  
  
"Why now, though? She's only, what 34 or 35? She still has time," Jack complained.  
  
"She's 36 Jack," Daniel corrected.   
  
"No way, Daniel. The last birthday we celebrated was her 34th. We skipped her 35th because you had just gone all glowy and she said she didn't feel like a party," Jack explained.   
  
"That was 14 months ago, Jack. Sam turned 36 two months ago, just before I came back," Daniel said with sigh. "You guys forgot, didn't you?"  
  
Jack thought about it for a minute and then swore. "Yeah, we did," he admitted.  
  
"Don't worry, Jack. I don't think Sam transferred because you forgot her birthday," Daniel said slightly amused.  
  
Jack gave him a sad smile. "No, that's not Carter's style. But come to think of it, her Dad wasn't around either. I hope somebody remembered," he worried.  
  
"I'm sure Janet and Cassie made a fuss," Daniel reassured him.   
  
"So let's assume she's not sick, and she's not angry that we missed her birthday. Why do you think she transferred?" Jack asked.  
  
"I thought it had something to do with me coming back, but now that my memories are coming back I know that's not right. Besides she said she transferred before I returned," Daniel said with a shrug.  
  
"Yeah, believe me Daniel. She really missed you. She's thrilled that you're back. But now that you mention it she did kind of go AWOL right before you came back. Said she had some things to work out. She ended up in San Antonio, but wouldn't say why," Jack explained.  
  
"Her Mom," Daniel cryptically answered. At Jack's confused look he expanded. "Her Dad was stationed at Lackland when her Mom died. She's buried in San Antonio."  
  
Jack let that piece of news sink in. "We've been idiots, Danny boy. Total and complete idiots."  
  
Daniel nodded not really needing an explanation of that statement. "We need to talk to Sam when we get back."   
  
"If she'll even speak to us," Jack sighed.  
  
"I'm certain that Major Carter would welcome the chance to talk," Teal'c chimed in from the back seat. "She has been most distressed that you would not let her explain her reasons for leaving the team."  
  
"Do you know why she transferred, Teal'c?" Daniel asked.  
  
"I do, Daniel Jackson. However, it would not be my place to comment," he acknowledged.  
  
When they got back to Colorado Springs they dropped off Captain Jameson and then decided to just head to Jack's house and crash there rather than driving all the way to the base. Once they had carried in their bags Daniel immediately suggested that they call Sam and ask her to come by. They tried her at home and on her cell. They even tried the lab. Finally they paged her, but she never responded so they turned to the task of ordering dinner.   
  
The next morning the three arrived at the base and made their way down to the locker room to change. They were just exiting the elevator when they became aware that something was wrong. First they heard security and a Hazmet team being ordered to level 19. Then they heard a page for Dr. Fraiser to come to the infirmary. Without even discussing the matter they re-entered the elevator and headed for level 21. They weren't prepared for the sight that met their eyes.   
  
A battered and bleeding Sam was being wheeled into the infirmary with a bevy of medical staff around her. Hammond was just arriving himself.  
  
"What happened?" Jack demanded.  
  
"We don't really know Colonel. One of the lab techs found her in her lab under a pile of broken devices and lab equipment. We think there might have been some type of explosion although no one heard anything and there was no damage to any of the large objects in the room. We are going to have to review the security tape to tell for sure," Hammond explained.  
  
"When did it happen?" Daniel asked, thinking about how they had not been able to reach Sam last night.  
  
"We don't know Doctor. She was called in to fix a problem late Saturday night and didn't check back out, so sometime between then and now," General Hammond admitted sadly.  
  
Jack physically paled at the thought of Carter in her lab hurt for hours. He too was remembering their attempts to call her last night and knew that she must have been lying unconscious on the lab floor. All four men stared silently at the infirmary door waiting for someone to come out and give them some idea of what was going on. Finally a nurse came out and took a deep breath before dealing with the men standing before her.   
  
"She's alive," she began, figuring she could at least offer that small consolation first. "But she's in shock, and hypothermic as well as having several broken bones and a probable concussion. They are concerned about internal bleeding, so they are trying to warm her up and stabilize her so they can take her into surgery. She's drifting in and out of consciousness, and we think her jaw might be broken, so she hasn't been able to speak," she concluded knowing the General would want to try to question her if possible. "Dr. Fraiser will let you know when she's out of surgery."  
  
Quite a crowd had gathered to hear the news, and an eerie hush fell over them all as the nurse retreated back into the infirmary. Hammond finally turned to everyone and ordered then gently back to work.   
  
"We'll keep everyone informed as to the Major's progress," he assured them all. Then he turned to her former teammates. "Did you talk to her at all this weekend?" he asked.  
  
"No," Daniel replied. "We went out of town with Captain Jameson. We tried to call her last night when we got home but we couldn't get hold of her."  
  
Through all of this Jack had been totally silent. Daniel and Hammond were looking at him in concern when an airman came up to them.  
  
"Excuse me, Sir. They have the security tape from Major Carter's lab ready for you," he informed the General. "It's cued up in the Security room on 16."  
  
The four hurried to see what could possibly have occurred that had left Sam in such a bad way. Ten minutes later they watched in shock as the Major put the device she had been studying down on her bench and within seconds was tossed across the room like a rag doll.  
  
"24 hours," Jack said staring at the screen. When the others questioned him he pointed to the time and date stamp on the tape. "She was lying there hurt and alone for 24 hours," he stated and then turned and walked out of the room before he broke down completely.   
  
Sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj  
  
It was another six hours before Dr. Fraiser could give them a full medical report. Periodic updates had let them know that Sam was out of surgery and in no immediate danger. Jack had spent the time in between the medical reports holed up in his office. Somehow he felt that this was all his fault. They should have invited her along with them this weekend. Even if she was no longer part of SG1 she was still their friend. Teal'c was right. They had abandoned her as if she was of no use to them now that she wasn't out saving their asses on a daily basis. How could he explain to her that he hadn't known how to get over the loss of her by his side out in the field, that he wanted her to be happy, but that he had missed her so much it was like he was grieving.   
  
After repairing some internal bleeding Sam had been sent off for a full set of x-rays, and Janet had sat down to review the tape to see if it would tell her anything further about her patient's injuries. Even as long as she had been at the SGC, she very rarely saw the actual moment of injury. She usually showed up after the fact. Seeing Sam get tossed across the room had made her light-headed. At least it explained a lot. Finally she was ready to brief the General. She wasn't surprised when she saw that Sam's former teammates were present as well.   
  
"Well, I have to admit after seeing that tape I'm surprised that Sam is still alive, but she's stable at the moment. Our biggest concern is the concussion, and any further internal injuries that we've missed. As for the rest, when Sam was hit by whatever that surge was it broke four ribs and cracked several others. Then when she landed she contacted the floor on her left side, which resulted in a broken left clavicle and radius, three broken bones in her left wrist, a fractured jaw, a hairline fracture to her pelvis, and a broken left fibula as well as the concussion. Amazingly, all of the glass and other debris didn't do too much damage, just a lot of cuts and bruises mostly on the right side of her body. She was in shock and hypothermic from lying on the floor for so long, but once we warmed her up she stabilized quickly, so that was a good sign, " she concluded.  
  
Stunned silence reigned over the room when she got to the end of the list. Finally Hammond was able to inquire what the prognosis was.  
  
"Well, she will need to be under observation for at least another four or five days to make sure that there is nothing that we missed and to monitor the concussion. After that if there are no complications… Sir it's going to be months until she is out of the casts," Janet informed them. "Has anyone contacted Jacob?"  
  
"I tried contacting the Tok'Ra several hours ago Doctor. I haven't heard anything back from them yet," Hammond admitted. "Why?"  
  
"Well, most of this is damage that Selmak could easily fix. Without that Sam's going to need constant care. Without someone to stay with her she's going to need to go to a rehab center. Come to think of it, even with someone to stay with her she's going to need an at-home nurse," she advised.  
  
"Can't we just take care of her?" Daniel asked.   
  
"You could certainly stay with her until Jacob shows up, but she is going to need someone to bath her and take care of personal hygiene. I think she would be more comfortable with a woman," Janet explained.  
  
"Well, with any luck the Tok'Ra will be in contact soon and Jacob or someone else can use the healing device on Major Carter. In the meantime she will be in your capable hands Doctor," Hammond stated.  
  
Janet knew that none of the four men would be content to actually leave Sam in her hands until they saw her patient for themselves. Since Sam was likely to be unconscious for quite some time yet, she figured she might as well allow them a quick peek before she banned them from the infirmary. Not that seeing Sam in her current state was actually going to put their minds at ease.   
  
As predicted the four wanted to see Major Carter as soon as possible, but once in the infirmary they stood looking at Sam in disbelief. Her left arm was in a cast from her shoulder to her fingertips and another cast covered her lower left leg to just above the knee. There was also some sort of soft cast around her hips to keep her pelvis in place, and the rest of her torso was tightly wrapped to protect her ribs. Her jaw had been wired shut and the gash on her head bandaged. She basically looked like something out of a cheap remake of 'The Mummy', except she also had more tubes and wires attached to her than they could count.   
  
Daniel was the first one capable of putting their thoughts into words. "She looks awful. I hope Jacob gets here soon," he said, his voice cracking with emotion.  
  
"If not, we are going to have one grumpy bored patient in a few days," Janet agreed. "You three had better get some rest while you can," she warned Sam's old teammates, knowing that they would take on the job of keeping Sam sane until her Dad arrived.  
  
Jack looked at the General in concern. Technically there was no reason why SG1 should be given any downtime, but there was no way in hell he was going to be leaving Carter until she was back on her feet. Before he could bring up the subject the General beat him to it.   
  
"I'm granting SG1 a week's downtime. We'll see what the Major's condition is then and re-evaluate what is needed," he said to the relief of the other three.   
  
Jack's gaze settled back on the pale features of the woman in bed. He had missed her so much the past few weeks and now he was kicking himself for letting his stubborn pride keep him away from her. He didn't care what the General or anyone else thought about it, he knew where he needed to be. Then he realized something. It was all right for him to show his concern for Sam. She was no longer under his command, and there would be no repercussions to face afterwards. That thought almost brought a smile to his face.  
  
"Now, I want you all out of here until at least 0700 tomorrow. I promise she will not be waking up before then," Janet warned them.  
  
The four all headed for the door, but Jack lingered back a couple of steps. "Uh, Doc. Is there anyone outside of the SGC that needs to be called to let them know about Carter?" he asked keeping his eyes firmly on his boots, hands stuck in his pockets.   
  
"Just Cassie, why?" Janet asked in confusion.  
  
"I just figured you would know if she was seeing someone who would be worried about her," he said haltingly.  
  
"No, Sir. Sam hadn't gotten around to getting that life yet," Janet said. If she hadn't been watching him closely she would have missed the small exhale of relief at her words.  
  
"Ok, just thought I'd check," he said and left quickly before she could comment.  
  
Janet shook her head in dismay. He still hadn't figured out that he played a prominent role in the life Sam wanted. And of course Sam hadn't had the courage to tell him yet. Would those two ever get their acts together?  
  
The next two days passed slowly. On Tuesday Sam slowly regained consciousness, but only stayed awake for a few minutes at a time. The Tok'Ra still had not responded at all, indicating that they were moving again, or in hiding. Captain Jameson took his unexpected downtime and went off to visit family. The other members of SG1 spent the day taking turns at Sam's bedside, and working on clearing out any work that they had unfinished. They wanted to be free to spend their time with Sam once she was truly awake.  
  
Even Hammond was impressed at the backlog of paperwork that the Colonel made his way through. As the day wore on he noticed that his 2IC was looking happier than he had in weeks. Since Jack never looked happy while slogging through expense reports and requisition forms he could only assume that certain aspects of Major Carter's transfer were beginning to sink in. He shook his head in a motion that echoed Dr. Fraiser's the day before. Just how long was it going to take for those two to admit their feelings to each other?   
  
By Wednesday Sam was aware enough for people to start talking to her. Since her wired jaw kept her from doing more than grunting, Janet had offered her the laptop with the voice synthesizer attached, but Sam resolutely refused to touch the thing. Too many bad memories. She settled for using a small whiteboard, marker and eraser to communicate.   
  
In the afternoon, Daniel wore her out with a long apology for his behavior of the last few weeks. They talked for an hour, and afterwards Sam felt relieved to know that her friendship with Daniel was in tact. As a result she took a long late nap. Which meant that she was wide-awake when the Colonel snuck into the infirmary after hours to check on her.   
  
He'd purposefully waited until he was sure she would be asleep. He'd made small talk the couple of times he had seen her awake during the day, teasing her about the mummy look, and doodling a limerick on the cast on her arm. It had been safe then with the infirmary buzzing with staff. Now in the quiet of the early morning the two just looked at each other. He was about to make an excuse and leave when Sam shook her head and scribbled furiously.   
  
PLEASE STAY  
  
Her eyes begged him even more than the words on the board demanded, so he pulled up a chair and started playing with the variety of pens and markers that people had used to write on her casts. He heard Sam give a big sigh and looked over to see her looking at him with so much sadness that he broke down and finally spoke.  
  
"I'm sorry. I know I've been an ass," he apologized, then waited for her to finish what she was writing.  
  
I MISSED YOU  
  
She was trying to make eye contact, but he closed his eyes and took a deep breath before responding. "I missed you too, more than I thought possible," he admitted softly. He only looked up when he heard her grunt. She was pointing to the board where she'd written one word.  
  
ALLOWED  
  
His eyes flew to hers, which now were waiting patiently. He tried ruthlessly to squash the small bubble of hope he was feeling. He didn't want to jump to conclusions. "What's allowed?" he asked holding his breath.  
  
She thought for a minute and then wrote.  
  
ANYTHING WE WANT  
  
His eyes never left hers. "And what do you want?" he said watching as her eyes began to sparkle.  
  
'This is it' she thought. She'd taken the first step when she transferred. Now it was time to reach for the one thing she wanted and hold on for what was sure to be a wild ride. She took her time writing her response.   
  
I WANT TO GO FISHING  
  
Sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj*sj  
  
Jack stood and looked at the words in disbelief. Then slowly a smile began to transform his face. He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back and forth on his feet a few times before finally meeting Sam's eyes. The look in them took her breath away, the desire was so blatant.  
  
Then in a voice husky with emotion he assured her, "Oh, I think that can be arranged, Major."  
  
Their eyes locked and six years worth of longing passed between them before the moment was ended by approaching footsteps. Jack automatically took a guilty step back from the bed, and Sam quickly wiped the words from the board. Then they exchanged an amused glance as they realized that their defenses were no longer necessary. Still, better to not start the rumor mill going before anything had actually happened between them There was still some serious discussion that needed to occur before they got to that point Sam thought. Then she met Jack's eyes over the head of the fussing nurse and realized that everything she needed to know was right there in the look he was giving her.  
  
The night nurse predictably shooed the Colonel out of the infirmary so that her patient could get back to sleep.  
  
"See you in the morning, Carter," he said throwing her one more heated look.  
  
Even with her jaw wired shut he could tell that she was smiling. 'It's the eyes' he thought. When she's happy they turn the most incredible blue. With a grin of his own and a small wave he left walking with a bounce in his step that had been lacking for a long time.   
  
Over the next two days Jack, Daniel and Teal'c spent every waking moment trying to keep Sam from sinking into depression. They smuggled in milk shakes for her and since they were mostly melted by the time she got them she was able to eagerly sip them through a straw. They dragged a TV and DVD player in and let her pick the movies, which she took total advantage of making then sit through several romantic comedies before finally having pity and letting them argue over what action film to watch. They spent an entire afternoon playing old board games and making up their own rules.   
  
And if their friends noticed that Sam and Jack were not only back to flirting but had ramped it up a few notches they were smart enough not to mention it. In truth, Daniel, Teal'c, Janet and even Hammond were totally enjoying watching the two officers gradually relax around each other. At first, force of habit had them backing off after accidentally touching or making a comment that was too familiar. Soon though they started to be comfortable with the fact that no one there was going to disapprove of their actions.   
  
And so it was that Jacob would find the group six days after Sam had been injured. He was surprised to see only George Hammond at the base of the ramp when he arrived, and concerned when he was told he would find SG1 in the infirmary, especially when he learned that it was just his daughter that had been injured.  
  
"Don't worry Jacob, she's not in any danger. But she will be thrilled to see you. And Selmak," the General told him cryptically.   
  
Jacob heard the laughter coming out of the infirmary before he entered. SG1 was obviously in high spirits, which relieved his mind momentarily. Then he entered the room.  
  
They had switched to cards that day, and the three men were lounging in chairs pulled up around Sam's bed using her tray table to lay down their hands. Jack was towards Sam's head on her left side, and since she was having to awkwardly hold her cards one handed he kept trying to peek at them as she shifted. Finally Sam shuffled all of cards into a pile and gave Jack a whack on the head with them out of frustration.  
  
"That would be 'Stop looking at my cards' *SIR*, Carter," Jack complained, correctly interpreting her action.  
  
SORRY 'SIR'  
  
Sam wrote on her board, and then picked up the cards, hit Jack on the head again, and followed with a salute. Which was the moment Jacob and Hammond chose to walk in.   
  
"Samantha Elizabeth Carter!" Jacob reprimanded causing the three men to jump from their seats and cards to scatter.  
  
That was when he got a good look at his daughter, or what he could see of her between the casts, bandages, and monitors. Any thought of why she had been hitting a superior officer flew out the window.   
  
"Sam, my god, what happened!" he demanded.  
  
"You're daughter decided she would try to add flying across a room to her skill set. It was a pretty impressive flight but the landing left something to be desired," Jack quipped causing Sam to roll her eyes even as she scribbled on the board.   
  
DAD! – SO GLAD YOU'RE HERE – SAVE ME?  
  
Despite his shock Jacob couldn't help but chuckle. If poor Sam had been at the mercy of her teammates for any length of time she must be going crazy. That explained the little act of aggression against Jack.  
  
"Hey we resent that!" Jack complained getting a look at what she had written.  
  
Sam shrugged, but her eyes were twinkling with laughter. Then she turned to General Hammond for help.  
  
"Jacob, we will explain it all to you later. For now we were hoping that Selmak could help Major Carter out. She's in for a very long recovery otherwise," Hammond requested.  
  
*We will be happy to do whatever we can, General. Major, it may take several sessions with the healing device to fix all of the damage* Selmak informed them.  
  
Daniel ran down to Sam's lab to get the healing device while Janet filled Jacob and Selmak in on Sam's injuries causing Jacob to once again pale at the amount of damage. Selmak assured him it was nothing they couldn't easily fix, and Jacob was once again grateful for his other half's abilities, and willingness to help.  
  
*I love her as if she was my own, Jacob* the Tok'Ra reminded him.  
  
"What first?" Jacob asked his daughter.   
  
She thought for a minute and then wrote down her top three complaints.  
  
JAW, PELVIS, RIBS  
  
Two hours later while Selmak rested, Sam was returned to her bed with the wire removed from her jaw, and the soft cast off. Her ribs were still wrapped as they were tender, but all in all she felt so much better. She could actually sit up in bed instead of laying on an incline and she was no longer hooked up to the monitors allowing her some freedom of movement. Her first order of business was to put in a food order to her friends.   
  
"No commissary food. I want an Italian beef and fries from that place by Daniel's old apartment. And stop at that German bakery right across the street from it and get a black forest cake," she requested actually sighing in anticipation.  
  
"Was she this bossy before, Daniel, or is it just having us at her beck and call that is bringing out her command skills?" Jack teased.   
  
"Jack, she hasn't eaten in six days, I wouldn't press your luck. Just do what she wants and nobody will get hurt," Daniel warned.  
  
"Ok. I know better than to come between a woman and her chocolate. T you want to come with?" Jack asked and the two headed out to pick up dinner.   
  
Once alone Daniel used the opportunity to question his friend. "So what's up with you and Jack?"   
  
"Nothing Daniel. Well except that there are no regs really keeping us apart anymore, so we are free to explore whatever there *might* be between us," she told him honestly.   
  
"But he's still a superior officer and Hammond's 2IC, doesn't that matter?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Not as long as I don't report to him, and I now officially report directly to Hammond as head of the SGC's Science Department," she explained.   
  
"We have a Science Department?" he asked trying to remember if that was something that had existed before he ascended.   
  
"It's new Daniel, as of my transfer off of SG1. Since I am going to be around more, the Joint Chiefs decided to give us more responsibility for new technology, I won't have to send off as much to Area 51," she said with a huge smile.  
  
"That's great! So is that the reason you transferred, to spend more time in the lab? Which by the way hasn't worked out too well for you," he pointed out.   
  
"Sort of. When the Colonel and Teal'c get back I'll try to explain it all," she offered.  
  
An hour later Sam was polishing off the last crumbs of her second helping of cake as the men watched in amazement.  
  
"Carter, you actually ate more than Teal'c. I would never have guessed it was possible," Jack said shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
"Let me tell you, having my jaw wired shut is an experience I never want to repeat. As if not being able to talk wasn't frustrating enough I was seriously starting to have cravings," Sam said with a sigh.  
  
"And it's not as if you needed to lose weight in the first place," Daniel commented.  
  
"No, it's not. So I suppose now that I *can* talk, and you guys are finally ready to listen, you want an explanation, huh?" Sam asked. "You better come over and listen in too, Janet," she added to the doctor who had been hovering in the background.  
  
"Yeah, we've already figured out that you weren't sick, or mad at us for forgetting your birthday," Jack said causing Sam to look at him in confusion.  
  
"We we're speculating, Sam. I figured you were just ready to settle down and have a family," Daniel explained.   
  
"Actually all of those played a part in my decision. And while Daniel's coming back was after the fact, his leaving in the first place did contribute," Sam began. "I've been doing a lot of thinking lately, since the Colonel came back from his month away with Maybourne and the whole Nirrti fiasco. I lost a lot of weight during all of that, and Janet's not happy with the fact that I haven't put it back on again," Sam admitted.  
  
"I was going to ground you until you gained 5 pounds," Janet reminded her.  
  
"Then my birthday came around, and for some reason I couldn't help thinking back to my Mom's 36th birthday. Dad had just transferred to Lackland and we hadn't even unpacked yet. We decided that since Mom had just the three of us to celebrate with we were going to make a special effort. We decorated the whole house with balloons, and got a cake. I was about 11 and Mark was 14, but even he put aside his sullen teenager persona for once. Dad took a day off and we spent the whole day as a family. It was great, and Mom was so proud and happy. And I suddenly realized how much I wanted that. And that my time was running out," Sam shrugged.   
  
"Where does my leaving come in?" Daniel inquired.  
  
"I started thinking seriously about what I wanted to be doing in 5 years, and what realistically was going to happen in that time frame. And I realized that I was the only member of SG1 that was likely to still be at the SGC in 5 years. Daniel was already gone, and while the Colonel wasn't going to retire in the immediate future, he certainly could have sometime in the next 5 years. It was always likely that Jonas would go back to Kalowna, and I know that Master Bratak wants Teal'c to come help him with the Jaffa rebellion," Sam explained.  
  
"And that left just you," Janet surmised.  
  
"Yeah," Sam nodded.   
  
"You abandoned us before we could all abandon you," Jack concluded.  
  
"Not exactly, but I do have to admit that was part of the appeal of doing this now," Sam said. "I just thought long and hard about what I wanted, and what I wanted was to be part of the SGC, but in a way that would allow me to have a life outside of this place. I went to Hammond and threatened to resign if he didn't let me transfer. We had a little talk off the record, and then he went to the Joint Chiefs and suggested a new position as head of the SGC Science Department for me. It would get me off of field work, and allow us to do more research here instead of at Area 51. They went for it. Hammond made the position report directly to him," she added looking pointedly at Jack.  
  
"Thus eliminating that pesky chain of command," Janet grinned.  
  
"Yes," Sam said blushing slightly.  
  
"Well," Daniel commented. "As much as we are going to miss you out there, if you are happy then that is what matters. And I think that is our cue to leave. Except for you Jack," he added with a smile.  
  
Daniel and Teal'c told her they would see her first thing in the morning, and Janet headed off to her office, discreetly pulling the privacy curtain to block the couple from prying eyes and the security camera.   
  
"Sooo," Jack said looking for something to fiddle with.  
  
"So," Sam echoed in amusement.   
  
"I thought I lost you," he admitted, stilling his hands and looking at her.   
  
"I'm going to be fine, Tomorrow Selmak will take care of the rest of the damage and I'll be back on my feet," she assured him.  
  
"No, when you transferred, I thought I'd lost you," he corrected her.  
  
"Oh," she said. "That's why you put the wall up."  
  
"Yeah, stupid I know. I could have saved us both a lot of pain if I'd just let you explain then," he apologized.  
  
"Yes, you could have. But I guess I've learned that it's never going to be easy between the two of us. And I should have found the courage to just blast through that stupid wall and tell you how I felt. I would have eventually," she confessed.   
  
"And yet you still want to go fishing with an old fool?" he questioned studying her.  
  
This time he got a proper smile. One of her dazzling ones. "You know I don't want to actually *fish* don't you?" she teased.  
  
"Really?" he quizzed moving over to sit on her good side facing her on the bed. "Because you know it's not actually about catching fish…"  
  
"Shut up and kiss me," she ordered.   
  
And then he did. And it was everything she had dreamed of and nothing like she had imagined. Who would have guessed that she could find everything she wanted in life in the one brief moment it took for his lips to find hers? Because if she'd known? She so would have gotten a life sooner. 


	3. Going Fishing

Title: "Going Fishing"   
  
Author: Jackie W.   
  
Sequel to: Giving Notice and Getting a Life  
  
As always feed back craved!   
  
Sam looked at the calendar. June 8th. It had been almost seven months since she had left SG1. She shook her head in dismay. Seven months and she still hadn't made it up to Minnesota to go fishing with Jack.  
  
Six months ago, after they had shared that first kiss, she had envisioned a future where the two of them slowly got to know each other as Sam and Jack while he continued on as CO of SG1 and she worked in the lab. She couldn't possibly envision the changes that fate had in store for them. Considering how rocky things had started out, she really shouldn't have been surprised.   
  
After that first kiss, things had gone relatively well for several months. Jack had looked a bit panicked when they finally had come up for air, as if he had no clue what to do next, but he'd eventually managed to stammer out a dinner invitation for the following Friday night. Then he'd left, only to return a minute later.   
  
"Carter, you know that it's January and we can't actually go fishing anytime in the near future," he told her.  
  
"It was just a figure of speech, Sir," she said with a grin. "Dinner will be fine for a start."  
  
"Just checking," he shrugged. Then he'd swept in for another kiss before telling her he'd be back first thing in the morning, and slipping out of the room.   
  
The next morning Jacob had gotten to the infirmary bright and early figuring that Sam would be dying to get her casts off. He was surprised to find Jack already there taking his daughter's breakfast order.  
  
"What can I get for you Jacob?" he asked before heading off to pick up the requested items from the commissary.   
  
"Why is Jack waiting on you hand and foot?" Jacob inquired giving Sam a kiss.  
  
"He's trying to make amends," Sam informed him, not really wanting to get into the subject just yet.   
  
"He's your CO. What does he have to apologize for? You told me this was a lab accident, so he can't be feeling guilty about you getting hurt," Jacob asked, his curiosity peaked.  
  
"I was in the lab on a Sunday alone because the guys had gone off without me. The Colonel and Daniel were both being pigheaded jerks," Sam explained. "Besides, the Colonel isn't my CO anymore."   
  
Jacob sat in shocked silence for a moment. "I can't believe that Jack stepped down as CO of SG1," he finally proclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.  
  
"He didn't," Sam corrected. "I transferred off."  
  
This time the silence was ominous. Finally Selmak spoke. "Your father is quite upset Samantha, and frankly your presence on SG1 will be missed by the Tok'Ra as well," she acknowledged.  
  
"Thank you Selmak. But this is for the best. It's a good thing, really," Sam insisted. "I'm very happy."  
  
"Why Sam?" Jacob finally was able to ask. "How in the world could it be a good thing for you to transfer off of a team like SG1? It can't do your career any good," Jacob stormed.  
  
"Well, for one thing, I'm now the head of the new Science Department of the SGC, so I don't think my career will suffer too much. And my career is not the only thing that I was concerned about. It was time for me to start thinking about the other things I want out of life," Sam informed him, trying to stay calm.  
  
"Please tell me you didn't do this because of some guy," Jacob protested.  
  
"No Dad, although the chance to actually have a relationship like a normal person was definitely in the plus column when I was making my decision," she admitted.  
  
"So there is a guy?" he demanded.  
  
"There's a possible guy," Sam confided. "And I really want to talk to you about it, but do you think it can wait until I am up and around?"   
  
"Why? It's easier for me to argue with you when you can't walk out on me," Jacob confessed.  
  
Sam rolled her eyes at that and then breathed a sigh of relief as Jack returned with their breakfasts. But if she had hoped that her father would drop the subject with O'Neill's return she was mistaken.  
  
"Jack, will you please tell my daughter that she can't drop a bombshell like this and then say we should talk later. We should have talked *before* she did something so stupid," Jacob insisted.  
  
"Yeah, see that's where I blew it too, Jacob. I got all upset that she didn't come to me before requesting a transfer. But it's her life, her career, it has to be her decision," Jack pointed out.  
  
"Don't tell me you're ok with this?" Jacob demanded in disbelief.  
  
"I'm getting there. I miss having her on SG1, but I don't want her out there if she's not happy," Jack acknowledged.  
  
While they had been talking, Jack had set up Sam's food for her and had automatically cut up her pancakes. Now as she listened to the two men her stomach started to growl.   
  
"Ok guys, I need to eat, so let's have breakfast before it gets cold, and then we can continue this debate," she requested.  
  
While eating his meal and watching Sam struggle to eat hers one-handed Jacob realized that she was right. The first order of business was to get her healed, and then they could talk. At the same time he was starting to notice that there was something definitely going on between his daughter and her former commander.  
  
'You've always suspected that he had feelings for her, Jacob,' Selmak reminded him.  
  
'I never thought she reciprocated them though,' Jacob answered.  
  
'She's very good at hiding her feelings,' Selmak commented without accusation.  
  
Jacob however immediately felt guilty. 'That would be my fault.'  
  
'She's obviously willing to share them with you now, so don't make her sorry. Besides you like him,' Selmak pointed out with a chuckle. 'She could do a lot worse and she does look happy.'  
  
Jacob grudgingly had to agree. He *did* like Jack, even if he was constantly glad that George was the one that had to deal with keeping him in line. He admired the Colonel's combat abilities and the way that he had molded a group of individuals with such diverse backgrounds and talents into one of the most cohesive teams he'd ever seen. Plus he had to admit that Jack had always treated his daughter with respect. If Jack O'Neill was Sam's 'possible guy' it wouldn't be all that bad. He looked over at Jack who was clearing away  
  
Sam's breakfast dishes while teasing her about losing the Egyptian Mummy look. Yep, this could even be fun. Sam hadn't had a boyfriend he could torture in a long time.   
  
"So, Jacob, is Selmak ready to finish fixing up Carter?" Jack asked interrupting Jacob's musings.  
  
"Yes, Colonel," Selmak replied.  
  
Jack went off to find Dr. Fraiser so she could supervise the proceedings. Soon Selmak was working on Sam's shoulder, wrist and leg. After the Tok'Ra was done, she and Jacob went off to rest promising to find Sam in her lab when they awoke. Janet insisted that Sam have another set of x-ray's before she removed the casts, so Jack left her in the Doc's hands with his own promise to meet up with her in her lab later.  
  
Having finally regained her mobility after a week, Sam practically skipped towards her lab. However once there she stopped at the door, suddenly unable to enter. Confused flashes of lying in that room in pain, unable to move or call out overwhelmed her, so she turned on her heels and made her way to Daniel's lab instead.   
  
"Sam! You're back on your feet. That's so great!" he exclaimed jumping up and giving her a hug.  
  
"Thanks Daniel. I have a favor to ask you," she stated nervously.  
  
"Sure Sam, anything," he agreed in concern.  
  
"Could you come with me to my lab? I'm sure there's a mess in there that needs to be cleaned up, but," she hesitated to admit how freaked out she was.  
  
"It's not your favorite place to be alone at the moment," Daniel finished for her.  
  
"I couldn't make it through the door," she admitted with an embarrassed shrug.  
  
"I'm not surprised," he sympathized. "Come on. Let's go see how much damage was done."  
  
Her lab was practically spotless. All of the debris had been cleared away, new lights installed, and test tubes and lab equipment all repaired or replaced. One pile of alien technology lay on her work bench, each piece labeled as to whether the function was known or still to be researched, and a note attached as to possible damage. One other pile of papers sat next to her PC waiting for Sam to go through it and re-organize the files.   
  
"Wow," Daniel exclaimed in amazement. "I wish whoever did this would come organize my lab."  
  
Just then one of the other scientists walked in and greeted Sam enthusiastically. "Major! It's so good to see you up and about. We were all very worried about you."  
  
"Thank you Dr. King. Do you happen to know who cleared up my lab?" Sam inquired.  
  
"Colonel O'Neill had Sgt. Siler and a couple of the lab techs in here for days getting everything fixed and organized," Kay King replied. "They brought the alien tech to us and we checked over each piece."  
  
"Thanks so much for helping. Now what can I do for you?" Sam asked.   
  
After Sam had dug out the files that Dr. King had been stopped by to try to find and the women had departed, she looked around the lab bemused.   
  
"He really cares about you," Daniel said finally breaking the silence. Then he watched as a smile and a blush both appeared on his friend's face.  
  
"I know," she whispered. Then she looked up at him and he was bowled over by the look of joy on her face. "I really care about him too, Daniel," she admitted with a smile.  
  
"So what are you going to do about it?" he pushed gently, and then was surprised to see her look slightly embarrassed. "Sam…has something already happened between you two?"  
  
"We kissed. Last night in the infirmary. And we have a date Friday night," she confided.  
  
"It's about time," Daniel teased. "Does Janet know?"  
  
"Not yet. I haven't been able to get her alone, so don't say anything. I'm hoping to grab her at lunch time," Sam pleaded.  
  
"My lips are sealed. What about Teal'c, ooh, and Jacob?" Daniel asked grinning at the thought of Jack facing up to Sam's Dad.   
  
"You can tell Teal'c if you want to, although he probably already knows. He's been pretty much in the loop on my feelings about the Colonel for months - long story. As for my Dad, I sort of let slip that there might be a guy, but if he has any clue as to who it is he didn't say anything. I'm sure he will be coming to see me as soon as Selmak is rested," Sam explained.  
  
Daniel kept her company while she sorted through the paperwork, helping her file and chatting about the latest translation he was working on. They'd been working for about 20 minutes when Jack appeared.  
  
"Hey. How's everything going in here?" he asked.  
  
"Fine. Thank you for getting everything cleaned up and organized, Sir. It's making it so much easier to finish up," Sam acknowledged gratefully.  
  
"No problem. There was no way we were going to let you try to clean up that mess yourself. Is there anything I can do to help now?" he asked hopefully.  
  
Daniel handed him a stack of reports. "These need to be filed," he stated, then added with a grin, "And I need to get back to my lab." With that he not so subtly departed.  
  
"He knows?" Jack asked with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Sorry. He asked and I couldn't lie," Sam apologized.  
  
"That's fine. I don't imagine it's going to be long before everyone finds out," he commented with a grin.  
  
"Really, why?" Sam asked.  
  
"Because it was killing me to stay away from you before. Now with no regs in the way, it's going to be impossible," he smirked as he backed her into a corner out of view of the security camera and gathered her in for a kiss that made her toes curl.  
  
They were just breaking apart to take a much needed breath when they heard a cough from the doorway.  
  
"Is there something you two want to tell me?" Jacob bellowed using his best outraged father voice.  
  
"I'm so dead," Jack whispered before he and Sam turned to face her Dad.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Jacob tried to maintain the glare as Sam and Jack turned to him. But the deer-in-the-headlights looks on their faces caused Selmak to laugh which made Jacob's lips twitch as he attempted in vain to hold onto his ominous look. Sam noticed the change in his features and broke out into a slightly embarrassed grin.  
  
"Yes, Dad. There is something we want you to know," she admitted with a chuckle.  
  
Not wanting to let Jack off the hook too easily, Jacob looked as displeased as he could and turned to the younger man. "And what exactly do you have to say for yourself, Colonel?" he bellowed, stopping just short of letting his eyes flash as he figured that would be a bit over the top.   
  
Jack only hesitated for a moment. He almost blurted out that he was in love with Jacob's daughter and had been for quite some time, but he really didn't want to say those words for the first time to Sam with an audience. Instead he went for something a bit more old-fashioned.  
  
"Jacob, Sam and I would like to start seeing each other, um socially, now that she's no longer under my command. I hope we have your blessing," he stated simply.   
  
"You know of course that if you make her unhappy in any way Selmak and I will have to hurt you," Jacob warned still looking stern.  
  
"As you should," Jack acknowledged.  
  
"Then you have my permission to see each other, how did you put it? Socially?" Jacob finally broke down and chuckled.  
  
"Thanks, Dad," Sam said giving him a hug.  
  
"Just be happy, kiddo," Jacob whispered to her as he returned the embrace. "Now, I think Jack and I need to go off and have a little chat, man to man."  
  
Sam looked like she was going to protest, but Jacob assured her that he would be good. A few hours later they saw Jacob off, and Sam headed home for the evening. Jack had originally offered to drive her but Hammond had called him in for a meeting on some personnel issues that had come up.   
  
Sam was only slightly disappointed. On the one hand she would have loved to spend the evening with Jack and perhaps find out what he had discussed with her father. But on the other hand she thought it would be sensible to take things slowly. And there was a huge part of her that wanted to jump the man as soon as they were alone together off of the base. She needed to get those impulses under control. Besides, she figured that she would need to clean up her place a bit after being gone over a week. But she was surprised to see that like her lab, someone (and she bet she knew who) had been to her house and had neatly piled up the mail on her kitchen counter, and had cleaned out the fridge of any nasty surprises that might have been waiting. Since the cleaning lady had been by on Thursday, the house was in pretty good shape. That had allowed her to order a pizza and spend some time paying the bills, do a couple of loads of laundry, and catch up on a few of her science journals. She came back to base on Monday rested and ready to face the gossip that was bound to be widespread by now. Thankfully she had gotten to Janet on Sunday before any rumors had started floating around.   
  
She smiled at the memory of her friend's reaction. She had cornered her in her office right after the scene with her Dad.   
  
"Sam, how are you feeling? Any lingering symptoms?" Janet had inquired.  
  
"No, I'm feeling great. Selmak fixed up everything and I got a whole week of rest. I'm raring to go," Sam replied.  
  
"Good. Then we are on for our wild night out on Friday?" Janet had asked hopefully.  
  
"Jan, I'm so sorry. I have a date," Sam apologized.  
  
"What? You've been in the infirmary for a week. You can't possibly have a date. Come on Sam, you can't back out… Oh!" Janet had stopped suddenly her eyes wide. "Really?!"  
  
Sam's grin had threatened to crack her face as she nodded.  
  
"Oh. My. God. You have to promise to tell me every detail," Janet had insisted.  
  
"I'll probably be so nervous that it will be a total bust," Sam admitted. "First dates are bad enough, but this one is something I've been dreaming about for years."  
  
"Just be yourself and you'll be fine. It's not exactly like a real first date anyway," Janet had sympathized.  
  
As it was, neither Sam nor Jack had much time to get nervous over the thought of their upcoming date. SG1 had a scheduled planet survey on Monday, and they had barely gotten back when they had been called out to help with negotiations on a planet that SG1 had made first contact with several months ago. For her part, Sam had finally managed to take apart the device that had injured her. Her father had been able to identify it as a predecessor to the stun grenades currently used by the Goa'uld. The older model had long ago been abandoned because of it's unpredictability. Now she was able to study how the device had created the powerful energy surge.  
  
Then as things were starting to quiet down on Thursday SG1 was sent on a rescue mission to provide backup for SG6 who had been pinned down away from the gate by a herd of animals similar to Earth's elephants. These animals were impervious to bullets as their hides where so thick they were like Kevlar. And the zats had proved useless as something in the planet's atmosphere was dissipating the energy to a harmless level. Sam and her team had quickly adapted new trinium tipped darts they had developed and made a version with a long enough tip to penetrate the inch thick hide. Then they had filled them with a powerful tranquilizer. SG1 had then gone through the gate and used the darts to sedate the animals long enough to get SG6 back home safely.   
  
Only once during the week did Sam give the upcoming evening more than a passing thought, and that was when she had gotten the not unexpected call from Cassie demanding to know if it was true. When told that it was, the teen had squealed making Sam feel ancient, but she had felt an internal squeal in response. Yep, she really needed to get those hormones under control.   
  
On the big night, Sam made it home with an hour to spare. Just enough time to dash into the shower, shave her legs (which her practical side insisted was totally unnecessary, they were taking it slow after all) and to quickly change into a casual skirt that fell below the tops of her boots, and a long sleeve top that was feminine without being revealing. Besides shaving her legs, she had also appeased that little hopeful voice (the one that was insisting that she could have sex tonight if she wanted to) by wearing her sexiest black lace underwear beneath the sedate outfit.  
  
Jack rang the bell exactly at 19:00. He had debated on the wisdom of getting Sam flowers and had finally decided to get her a single long stem pink rose as a compromise. He was glad he had made the gesture when she answered the door looking beautiful. If nothing else than because handing her the flower gave him something to do while he recovered from the shock. He couldn't remember the last time he had seen Carter in a skirt other than her dress blues. One of Daniel's wakes maybe?   
  
They both had been a bit nervous at first and the drive to the restaurant had been mostly silent. But shortly after they had ordered the wine they'd overheard two couples at a nearby table having a debate over the possibility of life on other planets. Sam's eyes had widened in disbelief and Jack had desperately tried to hold back his laughter. They both had broken down and laughed though when the wine arrived and Jack had toasted "To Thor."   
  
After that they had been a lot more comfortable other than the few times that they had stumbled over using each others first names (old habits are hard to break). They chatted about their early days in the force, and compared notes on planes they had flown. Sam learned a bit about his family, and she told him about some of the different places she had lived as a child. And as they relaxed they fell into the teasing and flirting that had always seemed to come naturally between them. By the time they left the restaurant it no longer felt like a first date. Sam couldn't help but think that Janet had been right.  
  
On the drive home Sam asked Jack about his private chat with her Dad. Jack told her that he had assured her father that they had never broken the regs while she was under his command, but that he'd admitted to having unprofessional feelings for her for years. He didn't tell her that he'd actually told Jacob that he loved Sam, and that he wanted to marry her, but thought a bit of wooing was in order before he proposed.   
  
It was the good doctor phoning her the next morning that woke Sam from her very pleasant dreams. As she reached for the phone she glanced at the clock. Holy Hannah, it was 0900. She never slept that late.   
  
"Carter," she answered groggily.  
  
"Tell me everything," her wide-awake friend insisted.  
  
Just then a strong arm reached out to pull her back against the warm body behind her. The very nice naked body.   
  
"Sam are you there?" Janet asked in concern.  
  
"Yeah. Just not awake. Jan can I call you back later?" Sam managed to reply trying to ignore the lips nibbling at her neck.  
  
"Sure but just tell me quick, was it good?" Janet pushed.  
  
"Very good," Sam said unsuccessfully biting back a moan.   
  
"Sam? Sam! Just one question and then you can tell me the rest when you come over later. Did he stay the night?" Janet demanded.   
  
The phone was suddenly removed from Sam's hand. "She'll see you later Doc," Jack told an astonished Janet, and then he reached over and hung up the phone.   
  
"Good morning, Major," he murmured as her turned her over so he could kiss her properly.  
  
Her plan to take it slowly had lasted until the moment Jack had leaned in for a good night kiss at her front door the night before. Luckily she had already unlocked the door and opened it a bit because the kiss had quickly escalated out of control and she had grabbed Jack and hauled him into the house closing the door behind them all in one swift motion.  
  
Remembering that first frantic coupling, Sam couldn't help but blush. She never would have believed she could be so wanton. But now as she returned Jack's kiss she was glad she had been. Last night had been the most incredible of her life, especially when they had made love a second time, much slower, much more in control, but somehow infinitely more intense as it was accompanied by soft admissions of love. Besides, she thought, her wild behavior had resulted in her waking up right where she belonged, in Jack O'Neill's arms.   
  
"So what did Doc want," Jack asked when they came up for air.  
  
"She wanted to know how our date went," Sam told him.  
  
"Pretty damn well," Jack replied with a grin.  
  
"I think she figured that out since you were still here. I'm supposed to be over there at 14:00. Cassie and I have a standing date. I suppose today's will consist of me being grilled for details," Sam sighed.  
  
"Do you have to go? I was kind of hoping we could spend the day in bed. Besides I'm not very comfortable with Doc knowing that much intimate detail about me. It's embarrassing," he admitted.  
  
"Well, you will just have to bribe me to maintain my silence," Sam suggested.  
  
"What did you have in mind?" Jack asked with a smile.  
  
Sam proceeded to show him.  
  
&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Over the next couple of months Sam and Jack spent all of their free time together, either with their friends or alone just enjoying each other's company. Daniel, Teal'c and Janet were all amused at the number of times they had caught the two officers in compromising positions, although it was always off base. After that one kiss that Jacob had walked in on in Sam's lab, they were extremely discrete while at work. Sam's possessions began a slow migration to Jack's house, and she only ever slept at her place when Jack was off world. Their transition to a couple was surprisingly easy considering how independent they both were. Of course it helped that they already shared a common set of friends and that they knew each other's quirks and bad habits. Six years of missions off world had been great preparation for living together.   
  
That's not to say that they didn't have their share of squabbles. But they were both mature enough to recognize petty disagreements for what they were. Things were going so well that Jack had actually bought a ring and was planning on proposing when several things happened to throw their lives into chaos. First Sam caught a flu bug and spent several days battling nausea and tiredness. Then they had their first real fight.   
  
They had been in a briefing going over MALP footage from a planet that showed signs of having once had underground tunnels. Hammond had made a point of asking Carter to get a list of previously occupied planets from the Tok'ra the next time they were in communications and Jack had made one of his sarcastic comments about their allies. Sam had bit back a retort during the meeting, but later as they made their way out to his truck to head home she had made her displeasure known.  
  
"Come on Sam, you can't really tell me that you trust any of them other than Dad?" Jack accused.  
  
"I think they are just like us, Jack. We have to build trust on a person by person basis. As a whole I trust them because I have to. As individuals, I reserve judgment until I get to know them," Sam tried to reason.  
  
"Well on the whole I distrust them. And other than Jacob and Selmak, I can't stand being around any of them for any length of time. They are Goa'uld no matter what they say," Jack protested loudly.  
  
Sam had been in the process of getting into the passenger side of the truck when he made the last statement and something inside of her snapped. Maybe it was some remnant of Jolinar or maybe it was just the knowledge that as much as she tried to ignore the fact, she did carry the remnants of a Goa'uld inside her, but she felt like he had just personally insulted her. She stepped away from the truck and slammed the door, and headed back inside informing Jack she would be staying on base for the night.   
  
His first instinct was to go after her, but he was angry that she couldn't see that he had good reason for feeling the way that he did. So he went home to a house that was way to quiet and tossed and turned in a bed that felt terribly empty. It had only been in the last two months that the house had felt like a home he realized. He thought about the ring sitting at the back of his nightstand drawer. He finally fell asleep after promising himself to make things right with Sam the next day so he could follow through on his plan to put that ring on her finger. He wasn't about to screw this relationship up.  
  
The next day SG1 was assigned an unplanned mission to a planet that showed signs of previous mining activity in the hopes that there would be naquada remaining there. Jack realized that he wouldn't have time to talk things over with Sam before he shipped out, but was relieved when she came to see him in his office. Sam had heard that they were going to be heading out and wanted to make sure that they talked. She would never let him go off world with their last words being spoken in anger. So she went and found him.   
  
"Hey," she started out nervously.   
  
"Hey," he answered back.  
  
"Jack, I'm sorry about bailing on you last night, but I just didn't have the energy to argue with you. I know we can't resolve this debate now, but I wanted to let you know that while I might be upset with you, I still love you," she told him.  
  
He let out the breath he had been unconsciously holding. "Same here," he acknowledged. "We may not ever agree on the Tok'ra, Sam, but I'm sorry I didn't even listen to you."  
  
He took a minute to look her over carefully. She looked even more worn out than she had the day before. "You still felling sick?" he asked reaching out to lay his hand against her forehead, relieved that it was cool.  
  
"Yeah," she admitted.  
  
"Make sure you see the Doc today would you please?" he requested pulling her into a hug.   
  
She nodded into his shoulder ad he kissed the top of her head before pulling away. As much as he wanted to kiss her he was mindful of the security cameras recording their every move. Making up correctly would have to wait until he got back and they could go home.   
  
"I need to get changed. Come see us off in the gateroom?" Jack requested.  
  
"Of course," Sam agreed with a smile.   
  
After seeing SG1 off, she kept her promise to Jack and headed down to the infirmary. Janet drew some blood and prepared to look at it under the microscope.   
  
"I know you haven't been off world, but you could still pick up an alien bug from some of the technology you work on, or from one of the soil samples," she explained.   
  
She also decided that Sam was a bit dehydrated, so she hooked her up to and IV and let her work on her laptop while she got some fluids into her. An hour later she reported that she hadn't found anything unusual, but would send a sample off to the lab to see if they came up with any bacteria or viruses.   
  
"Hopefully this thing has just about run it's course and the fluids should make you feel much better," she assured her friend.   
  
A few hours later Sam was feeling better. But as the afternoon wore on a she found herself continuously looking at the clock. SG1 wasn't due back until the next day, but she had a very bad feeling that was growing stronger by the minute. When the Klaxons sounded she was out of her lab and down to the gateroom in record time. She arrived just in time to see Teal'c haul an unconscious Jack O'Neill through the wormhole and lay him on the ramp. Before he was surrounded by medical personnel she got a good enough look at his battered body to make it necessary for her to lean against the nearest wall and slide down until she was sitting. She had to take several long slow breaths before her vision cleared and she no longer felt like she was going to pass out.   
  
Teal'c and Daniel helped her down to the infirmary. They explained to her and to General Hammond that the natives had not been receptive to their presence on the planet and had been chasing them back to the gate. Jack was on SG1's six, occasionally firing over the natives heads hoping to keep them scared enough that they wouldn't get too close, when the path they were running on suddenly crumbled throwing Jack over the side into a steep ravine. He had reached out for tree limbs to break his fall but one had struck his head, and then he had continued to tumble until a pile of rocks had broken his fall and shattered his left leg.  
  
They had just finished recounting how Captain Jameson had managed to scramble down and secure a rope around Jack and then had supported the unconscious man as Teal'c had pulled him back up while Daniel had held off the natives, when Dr. Fraiser came out to give them an update. They were whisking Jack into surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain that the head injury had caused. They would simply be splinting his leg until they could deal with the more threatening inter cranial pressure.   
  
An hour later Jack was out of surgery. Two hours after that Fraiser reported that the pressure was building again and that they were going to have to take him into surgery a second time. That was when Sam stepped in. Since her failure using the healing device on Daniel she had been working with the piece of technology. She had tried it out on Jonas once when he had sprained his wrist, and once on Sgt. Siler when he had slipped off a ladder and wrenched his back. She had even tried it on herself when she'd gotten an electrical burn in her lab. Each time she'd found it easier to control the device, realizing that unlike the ribbon device, the trick to the healing device was to relax and let a sense of peace and well being flow throw it. So Janet was willing to let her give it a try, especially since she really didn't like the idea of subjecting the Colonel to another surgery when his vitals were still a bit erratic. So while Dr. Warner and the nurses scrubbed, Sam stood over Jack and closed her eyes trying to relax. She conjured up thoughts of the two of them at his cabin, sitting on the dock drinking a beer and fishing. Soon she felt the device begin to glow. Janet carefully watched the machines for any sign of change. After a minute she saw a small improvement.   
  
"Keep going Sam, it's working," she coaxed never taking her eyes from her patient or the readings on the screens.   
  
When she was satisfied that the pressure had been reduced she turned to Sam to let her know that she could stop and just barely caught her friend as she collapsed.  
  
Ironically, Jack regained consciousness before Sam did, although Janet assured him and the others that Sam was simply sleeping. Apparently using the healing device on top of having the flu had exhausted her. Jack's vital signs were all much improved, so the orthopedic specialist was brought in to work on his leg. Jack ended up back in surgery, as it was determined that putting the shattered bone together again was going to take two pins. He was going to have a long rehab unless he got lucky and one of the Tok'ra stopped by and could speed up the healing process, an irony that was not lost on the Colonel considering what he and Sam had been arguing about a couple of days before. Janet flatly refused to let Sam use the healing device again any time soon. Jack was just coming out of recovery when Sam finally decided to wake up.   
  
"Hey there sleeping beauty," Daniel commented on seeing her eyes flutter open.  
  
She was momentarily confused, but as she remembered what had happened she sat up in a panic. "Jack!" she cried out.  
  
"He's fine, Sam. They should be bringing him back in here soon," Daniel assured her.  
  
Sure enough a few minutes later they wheeled Jack in. He was slightly groggy but glad to see Sam awake.  
  
"Sam, thank goodness. Doc kept telling us you were just tired, but you were out for so long we were worried," he told her.  
  
  
  
"How long did I sleep?" she asked realizing that Jack's leg was now in a cast.  
  
"Sixteen hours," Daniel confirmed looking at his watch.  
  
"That's impossible!" Sam declared.  
  
"That's why I'm going to be running several more tests on you," Janet said as she entered the room.  
  
So as a nurse came to draw blood from Sam, Daniel took off to find Teal'c and let him know that both Sam and Jack were awake. In the mean time Jack debated on whether to thank Sam or yell at her for putting her own health at risk. Luckily even in his slightly altered state he realized that the first option was the proper one.  
  
"Sam, thank you for saving my sorry ass once again," he told her.  
  
"You're welcome, even though I really didn't save your life. If I hadn't gotten the device to work they would have just operated again," Sam explained.  
  
"But you did save my life. Janet said the second surgery would have been very risky given my vitals signs," Jack insisted.   
  
Sam looked at Janet for confirmation, and the Doctor nodded. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to put too much pressure on you Sam," she admitted.  
  
Sam managed to hide the fact that the news shook her to the core. She had come really close to losing Jack. It was two hours before Janet let her leave the infirmary with the promise that she would stay on base. As soon as Sam got to her quarters she grabbed her garbage can and heaved. Images assaulted her of all of the men she had lost over the years. Jonas Hansen, Narim, Martouf, and Orlin. Even Joe Faxon who had only made the fatal mistake of asking her out. And those were quickly followed by the thoughts of those other realities where Jack O'Neills had died while in a relationship with alternate Sam Carters.   
  
She and Daniel had once speculated that there was a blight on the love lives of SG1, but she had never taken it seriously. Now she only had one thought as she curled up on her bed.   
  
Maybe she really was cursed.   
  
&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&  
  
Sam's first instinct was to run as far away as she could. Maybe Jack would be safe if she put enough distance between them. But she was confined to base until her test results came back, so she decided to put the time to good use. After sixteen hours of sleep she didn't think she would be tired again for days, so she headed for her lab. She was going to make sure all of her paperwork was handed in, and all of her projects were ready to hand over, so she could make a quick get away as soon as she was able to.   
  
The routine task of clearing her desk gave her time to calm down and think. Several hours later she was no longer in a panic. She really didn't believe in curses, and even if she did, the evidence suggested that the damage had already been done. He was in love with her, and that was all it would take to seal his fate. After all, she had broken up with Jonas long before his death. At that point she laughed at herself. She was actually trying to reason through the ramifications of being cursed in a logical fashion. Maybe she should have Janet check her for a fever.  
  
In the mean time, Jack was in the infirmary having his own crisis of confidence. The orthopedic specialist was not very optimistic about his chances of a full recovery and the prospect of retirement or flying a desk was not very appealing. On the other hand, it would make Sam's life easier if she wasn't always worried about him being off world. He hadn't missed the quickly disguised look of horror on her face when she had realized how serious his head injury could have been without her help. General Hammond stopped by to see him after he got the medical update to try o to put his mind at ease. He would always be needed at the SGC, and depending on his fitness level, he could either take an advisory role, helping out with their allies (after all would Thor really trust anyone else?) or he could help train new recruits.   
  
Sam was finally distracted from her musings in the late afternoon when her stomach loudly complained. She must be over the flu, she thought with a smile. It was the first time she could remember being hungry in over five days. Realizing that it had been six hours since she left the infirmary, she decided that she would stop there and see if Jack wanted anything before she headed to the commissary. She checked in first at Janet's office where she found her friend wolfing down a sandwich and going over some charts.   
  
"Sam! Your test results are back but I haven't had a chance to go over them yet," she apologized.  
  
"Take your time Jan. I thought I'd check to see if your favorite patient was allowed food before I went down to get something myself," Sam explained.  
  
"Your appetite is back? That's a good sign. And I'm sure the nurses will welcome you with open arms if you can distract that man for a bit. The Colonel can eat, but keep it bland," she warned.  
  
"Ok, after we eat and talk a bit I'll stop back in," Sam told her.  
  
Jack was relieved to see Sam. Teal'c and Daniel had both abandoned him a while ago and he was bored, even though he had a lot of thinking to do about his future. He had also begun to worry since she had been gone so long. He gladly took her up on her offer of food, as the clear liquids and Jell-o he'd had after recovery hadn't done much to fend off starvation. He was happy to see that Sam was eating too. She never had any extra weight on her, and she was definitely beginning to look like she was wasting away after being sick for several days. They sat and chatted about trivial things while they both practically inhaled their food. When they were done she asked what the prognosis was on his leg.  
  
"A minimum of six weeks in the cast, then rehab," he moaned. "And even with that the Bone Doc wasn't too enthusiastic about me passing the physical. But Hammond assures me that I can always 'Consult'," he grimaced.  
  
"You'd hate that. Don't worry, as soon as I'm cleared I'll use the healing device to see if we can't speed up that recovery a bit," she promised.  
  
"No way. Janet says she has no clue why you had such a bad reaction this last time. I am not letting you do that again," Jack ordered.   
  
Sam started to protest, but she knew there was no sense arguing at this point. "Fine, then one of the other Tok'ra will fix you up the next time they show up. They are about due to need our help with something," Sam shrugged.  
  
Jack gave her a funny look. "You mean one of the Tok'ra," he corrected.  
  
"What did I say?" she asked looking confused.  
  
"One of the *other* Tok'ra," he told her.  
  
"Oh!" she said eyes wide as she realized her slip.  
  
Jack sat there in stunned silence for a moment, and then he swore. "That's why you are always so upset when I bad-mouth the Tok'ra. Do you think I am insulting you?" he asked in dismay.  
  
She couldn't meet his eyes as she answered him. "Yes." She got up to pace around the small space with her arms wrapped protectively around her front. "It's stupid, but it always feels like a personal insult. I am, after all physiologically a Goa'uld, except for actually having a live snake in my head," she acknowledged.  
  
"A pretty big exception. Sam you are *not* a Goa'uld or a Tok'ra," Jack insisted.  
  
She finally turned and looked him in the eyes, and he could see the tears she was fighting to keep at bay. "I'm not exactly human anymore either. You need to accept that Jack," she pleaded.  
  
"God, Sam Come here," he implored as he patted the right side of his bed.   
  
She sat down facing him, trying to be cautious so as not to jar his leg, but he reached out and pulled her into a tight hug. He couldn't believe he and his big mouth had been hurting her like that. And although the whole blending thing wasn't something he ever talked about, he knew she deserved at least this much.   
  
"I love you. All of you. Including the parts that Jolinar left behind, and especially the way you've handled those parts. I've always marveled at how you could possibly be strong enough to handle all of the crap she dumped on you, and so damn proud of the fact that you did handle it," he admitted.  
  
She pushed off from where her head was buried in his shoulder and brushed a soft kiss across his lips. "Thank you. That means the world to me," she told him.  
  
But he could see that she still looked upset by something. "What else is bothering you, Sam?" he asked in concern.   
  
"I almost lost you today," she whispered.  
  
"But you saved me, just like you always do. I'm going to be fine," he assured her.   
  
"But for how long?" she wondered, and then was startled to realize she had said it out loud.  
  
"I'm not planning on going anywhere. And I've been thinking. Even if my leg heals, I'm going to step down from SG1. Hammond will let me do training if I'm fit, keep my hand in as it were. Then I won't be putting my life on the line on a daily basis," he explained.  
  
"I don't want you to give up SG1 for me. Besides I don't think it would matter. I'm cursed you know," she informed him only partially joking.   
  
"Cursed?" he inquired with a raised eyebrow.  
  
"Love me, and die. It's a proven fact in this reality and at least two others," she confirmed.  
  
He couldn't help but laugh.  
  
"It's not funny!" Sam protested.  
  
"No it's not," Jack agreed trying to maintain a serious face. "But I guess I'll just have to take my chances," he said with a shrug.  
  
She looked like she was about to argue, but he stopped her with a swift kiss. Pulling back he just shook his head. "Without you in my life I'm a dead man anyway. So I'll take whatever time we have together whether it ends up being one year or thirty. Personally I plan on being in this for the long haul," he said with a sexy grin and a twinkle in his eyes.   
  
For a moment Sam could only beam one of her biggest smiles back at him. Then he saw her smile curve into a slightly wicked grin.  
  
"Was that a proposal, Jack?" she asked tilting her head to one side as if to ponder the question.  
  
Jack was stunned into silence. This scenario wasn't even close to any he had imagined when planning to pop the question.  
  
"Because I could run home and get the ring out of your nightstand," she prompted.  
  
He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Darn it! I knew I should have hidden it in my underwear drawer!" he lamented. Then he opened his eyes and they bore into hers filled with love and desire. "Yes, it was a proposal. Marry me?!" he urged.  
  
Her enthusiastic "Yes" was out almost before he had finished the question, and then she threw her arms around his neck to pull him in for a passionate kiss.   
  
That's how Dr. Fraiser found them a few minutes later, wrapped in each other's arms, Sam awkwardly lying across Jack's right side, lips still locked in a kiss.  
  
"Do you two ever let up?" she quipped.  
  
Jack threw her one of his most charming grins. "She said yes," he explained cryptically.  
  
Janet didn't take long to catch on. She looked at Sam with wide eyes for confirmation. From the shelter of Jack's shoulder Sam nodded. Then she untangled herself from his embrace.  
  
"You and Cass are going to need to go shopping for bridesmaid dresses," she told her friend.  
  
Janet instantly pulled her into a hug. "Congratulation, you two!" she exclaimed. Then she turned to her patient. "You had better take good care of her," she warned.  
  
"Don't worry Doc. There are too many people that would hurt me it I didn't. I don't have a death wish," he proclaimed.  
  
"I'd love to be around when you tell Jacob," Janet admitted with a gleam in her eyes.  
  
"Actually he knows that I intended to propose. I told him two months ago when he was here," Jack confessed.  
  
Sam head snapped up to meet his slightly embarrassed gaze. "You did?" she asked in surprise.  
  
"I knew it was what I wanted, I just wasn't sure about how you felt," he told her with a shrug and a grin.  
  
"Well I hate to break up this happy moment, but the Colonel needs to get settled for the night. A nurse will be in with your meds soon, Sir. And Sam, we can go over your lab results and then I'll let you go home. I'll even drive you home if you need a ride," Janet said.  
  
"She can take my truck. I won't be driving it any time soon," Jack offered. "The keys are in my locker."  
  
Sam looked at him to see if he was kidding. He was almost as protective of his tuck as she was of her bike.  
  
"Are you sure?" she asked.  
  
He nodded. "Just stay out from under the hood. I don't want to find any of the timing belts have been played with," he warned her, knowing she would be tempted fiddle.  
  
"You are no fun," she commented with a pout.  
  
Janet gave them five minutes to say goodnight, which they reluctantly did. Just before she left Jack told her to be sure to bring the ring in the next day.  
  
"It's going on my finger the instant I get home," she said with a wink and a grin as she headed for Janet's office.   
  
True to her word, Sam headed to Jack's house, and after locking up she headed to the bedroom and dug out the ring. She had just barely peeked into the box when she had found it accidentally two weeks ago. Now she put it on and openly admired it. The setting was antique in design, silver, the main stone a sapphire with a diamond on either side. Despite her earlier thoughts on not being able to sleep for days, she actually curled up hugging Jack's pillow and slept peacefully for seven hours.   
  
She arrived in the infirmary bright and early having kept her left hand firmly in her pocket as she made her way into the mountain, to find Daniel and Teal'c already sitting having breakfast with Jack. Slipping her hand out into plain view she gave her fiancé a kiss and than sat back to wait for one of the two visitors to notice. She was swiping a piece of bacon from Jack's plate when Teal'c raised an eyebrow and pointed to the new addition.   
  
"Are congratulations in order, Major Carter?" he inquired.  
  
"Most definitely, T," Jack replied.  
  
Daniel's "It's about time" could be heard out in the corridor, so after joyously giving their friends the details of their engagement, Sam scurried on down to Hammond's office to give him the news before the grapevine worked it's magic. Luckily he had been in an early morning briefing, so while the announcement wasn't a huge surprise, it was still good news. Hammond broke protocol to pull her into a hug and let her know how happy he was for both her and Jack. He told her he would send a message to the Tok'ra asking Jacob to stop by when he could, and he'd be sure to stop by and congratulate his 2IC as soon as he could.   
  
Through lunchtime the infirmary had a constant stream of well-wishers that kept Jack occupied. After lunch he was worn out enough from all of the excitement that he took a nap, so it wasn't until dinner time that he began to get bored and started to bug the Doc to let him out. Sam had been prepared for this and had already recruited the other three members of SG1 for a night of poker. By the time Jack was bedded down for the night, the medical staff was thinking of giving Sam Carter a medal. They couldn't remember the last time a conscious Jack O'Neill had made it through a day in the infirmary without driving them crazy. But they held off on their thanks. After all, Jack would be their guest for one more day until Dr. Connors returned to do the follow up x-rays and release him.   
  
Sam however had an ace up her sleeve. Not too long after breakfast, when Jack's complaining was beginning to cause the nurses to questions their career choices, Sam signaled Janet that she wanted some privacy. The two nurse's relief at being given a break was almost funny, but Jack's dismay when they left the room was hysterical.  
  
"Hey! Where did everyone go?" he sulked.  
  
"You drove them all away. Jack you need to let them do their job and not fight them every step of the way," Sam scolded him.  
  
"Yes, Mom," he mocked, not looking at all repentant.  
  
"I'm serious, Jack. We have a lot to do in the next few months. There's a wedding to plan, and we need to clear out my house and sell it. Plus we need to set up a nursery. I need you to do everything the doctor's say so you can get back on your feet as soon as possible," Sam ranted.  
  
He'd started to zone out when she began to lists things, so he wasn't really sure he had heard correctly.  
  
"What did you say?" he demanded.  
  
She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Well if you would pay attention," she admonished with her hands on her hips.   
  
"Sam!" he exclaimed grabbing her hand to pull her closer. "What. Did. You. Say?" he pleaded.  
  
"I said that I need you up on your feet because there is a lot to do in the next eight months before the baby comes," she explained gently, fighting back a grin.  
  
Jack closed his eyes as a wave of emotions passed over him. When he opened them Sam swore he was fighting back tears. She momentarily panicked thinking that she might have been mistaken about him being happy about this news. Then his features began to change, and soon he was sporting the biggest smile she could ever remember seeing on his face, and she knew it was alright. Before she could say another word she had been pulled into a kiss and just as their lips parted she heard Jack whisper "Thank you". She suspected that the invocation was offered not just to her, but to whatever higher power had regarded him worthy of a second chance at fatherhood. She silently added her appreciation as well.  
  
Then he was full of questions. "When did you find out? Are you ok? How far along are you?" he fired off in rapid succession.   
  
She finally leaned in to kiss him, a tactic he loved to use on her to gain silence. She sat back and told him about her conversation with Janet just thirty-six hours ago.   
  
  
  
"Well, it wasn't the flu," Janet had said flipping though Sam's lab work once they were safely in the Doctor's office with the door closed.   
  
Sam was instantly concerned. "Alien?"   
  
"Oh, no, definitely a human condition," Janet had told her with a twinkle in her eye.   
  
It had been Janet's demeanor that had made Sam pause. She didn't look like she was about to deliver bad news, a posture Sam had seen her friend adopt way too many times. The pieces had started to fall into place. This was good news.  
  
"I'm pregnant?!" Sam had whispered in amazement.   
  
"I'd say about a month along," Janet confirmed with grin.  
  
  
  
"So she had me see Dr. Peterson the OBGYN yesterday. She confirmed that everything is fine, and that I am about five weeks pregnant," Sam grinned.  
  
They spent the next twenty minutes quietly talking, wrapped in each others arms, pausing now and then to grin stupidly at each other and kiss. When Janet walked in she just shook her head.  
  
"I believe it's this kind of behavior that got you into your present condition, Sam" she teased.  
  
"Doc, you better brush up on your medical training. You can't get pregnant from kissing," Jack smirked.  
  
"Stop right there, Colonel. I don't need a vision of you two doing anything else in my head," Janet warned.   
  
"Jan, we've decided to keep this news quiet for now. Just SG1, and maybe Dad until I'm further along," Sam told her.   
  
"Probably a good idea. Even in a normal pregnancy the first trimester is risky," Janet said nodding her approval.   
  
Needless to say, Jack had been in too good of a mood to give any of the nurses or Dr. Conner a hard time that day, which had confused the heck out of those nurses used to dealing with him. Not that they were complaining. Jack had gotten clearance to go home with strict instructions to not over do it and to use his crutches to get around. Teal'c and Daniel had helped him home the next morning, and once there had been given the news that they were going to be 'uncles'. Both men were so happy for their friends that they instantly went out and bought a book of baby names, and spent the rest of the day (and frankly the next couple of months) 'helping' Sam and Jack pick out names.  
  
Jacob came through the gate about a week later, and he and Selmak did their best to heal Jack's leg. He still was going to need PT to get it back to full strength, but at least he was able to get the cast off, and progress to a cane. Jacob and Selmak were both thrilled at all of Sam and Jack's news (although Jacob had a few choice words for Jack on the subject of getting his daughter pregnant out of wedlock). They set a date while he was there so that he could come back for the wedding.   
  
And so on a brisk day in late April, Sam and Jack were married. They kept the ceremony small and intimate, and because it was still cold in Minnesota and Jack didn't want to skip any therapy they chose to just take a long week-end at a nearby resort as their honeymoon. It was June before they both were able to get away again and they were finally heading up to Jack's cabin for two weeks. Jack was going to use the time to consider what he wanted to do when he came back as it was likely that he would be cleared for active duty. Truthfully, he already knew he would not be going back to SG1 and had told Teal'c, Daniel and Captain Jameson that before he'd left base the day before. As much as he wished to continue the fight, his body wasn't getting any younger, and with Sam waiting at home and a baby on the way, his heart wouldn't be in it anymore either.   
  
As she finished packing, Sam caught site of her reflection in the mirror, and turned to look ruefully at her slightly bulging abdomen. She wouldn't be wearing her bikini on this trip. Pity. She had a couple of really good fantasies involving Jack removing that bikini while they were 'fishing'. Then she had to smile. Jack certainly didn't seem to find her any less sexy now that she was starting to show. If anything he found her fuller figure even more of a turn on than before. But then the man had once admitted that he thought she looked sexy in BDU's so his judgment was a bit clouded.   
  
Suddenly two strong arms wrapped around her and pulled her gently back into an embrace.   
  
"Are the bags all ready to go?" Jack asked kissing her neck.  
  
"Yeah, I just need to grab my purse and jacket," she replied.  
  
"Well then, Mrs. O'Neill, let's go fishing." 


End file.
